A swinger to hold the BBC

chemistry is fine, what i take issue with is depth and variety.

We have somehow addressed depth by signing Morata and even then there are question marks.

depth on the other hand is not all that. i think there is a difference between say Bayern for example, when ribery-robben are out and they still have douglas costa-coman available, and us having to play Jese or Vasquez. I see a gap, they are functional, they can do well, but i see a gap in quality.

this title

That is a fair point, and there is a definite gap when comparing to Bayern- but Bayern have been known for their strength in wingers for the past 5-6 years.

My other issue with signing another winger is that I think we are underestimating the difficulty of coming off the bench and keeping the tempo at the same level (and in some cases improving the game).

IMO Lucas and Jese both have shown they are more than capable of coming off the bench and maintaining the level of play that preceded them.

However all of the names you listed are starters so it raises two questions. 1) Will they accept a rotational/bench role? and 2) How will they adjust to having less than consistent playing time?

I am fairly confident in the players we have for those roles currently, signing a new winger would be a risk we don't need to take.

Every time I watch Draxler he is fantastic. Comfortable on both sides and a supreme dribbler. We can use a dribbler like him, although I doubt he will accept the "bbc will always play" policy of Zidane.

vanDEEZ wrote:
IMO Lucas and Jese both have shown they are more than capable of coming off the bench and maintaining the level of play that preceded them.
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lucas yes....so far, jese, not so much. in fairness to jese, that first season we signed bale, he was good. but he's fallen into that trap of "is he a winger, a forward or a striker". i think when we talk back ups we have to take into account that the formation may change as well depending on who's out. i don't mind the concern, but if we are to execute it, it has to be open competition imo. players should play based on performance, not name, and back ups should at least be given a chance to showcase what they can do. signing someone and telling em "well these guys will always play, and u'll play if they're injured/suspended" does little for a player....just ask chicharito

well, while chicharito was a little delusional what is madrid career was going to be, you are right in that it's a communication disaster to tell players that they will never start others are fit. It's awful, even if we know how important some guys are, to outright just dismiss that others can play at a better level and still be benched is terrible. And to include Benzema in that list as if he is somekind of once in a generation CF..smh... that's hat Morata is concerned about, that idea no matter what he does, benzema will always be ahead of him because he is "preferred"

The reason Benzema is preferred is that he allows CR and Bale to be the goalscorers... most every other CF can't even exist in such a setup. That's why Zidane and Madrid hold on to him so tightly.

His lack of durability is an issue however. And i think that Zidane wants to use Morata in a way that allows for Benzema to remain at a top level come April.

You guys refuse to accept what I am telling you about Jese!! That's fine, you can await the official announcement, but let's review what we do know as fact.

1. Morata is coming. Zidane said he can play all three forward positions and will get plenty of playing action (he did say in same interview that he was the ideal replacement for Jese spot on team).

2. Lucas is staying.

3. All of BBC will be back and will be the starters.

4. Zidane showed in a half season that he is a much better man manager than either Carlo or Mourinho were. He likes his entire team and tries to utilize entire squad.

5. We were short of players last season (CF, DM and LB) and it showed.

6. Zidane has made it a point this summer that young reserve players on bench do not fully develop.

Nick's whole argument in this thread is that we need another forward (wing as he called it or swinger as it is now LOL). We simply can't go into another season not having enough forwards available. With Zidane's man management, I don't feel playing time nor being a bench player will be a problem.

IMO, the delay in getting the extra forward (besides the Euro Cup activities) is lack of offers for James. Until he goes, he actually is the 6th forward.

I've heard, Zidane and James will meet once he finishes his vacation and also that club wants at least 50M. Man U, Mendes and Mourinho are interested, but I haven't heard of anyone else.

It just seems with the Euro, player vacations, etc, we are going to be well into August before we know all the answers.

Mr Nick09 wrote:well, while chicharito was a little delusional what is madrid career was going to be, you are right in that it's a communication disaster to tell players that they will never start others are fit. It's awful, even if we know how important some guys are, to outright just dismiss that others can play at a better level and still be benched is terrible. And to include Benzema in that list as if he is somekind of once in a generation CF..smh... that's hat Morata is concerned about, that idea no matter what he does, benzema will always be ahead of him because he is "preferred"

Are you actually implying Morata can actually match a 2.5/10 Benz let alone a 5/10 Benz? Top Kek. The standards for CFs have truly dropped in these dark times.

I am returned. Only yesterday night have I found out we actually resigned morata. I trust Zidane to remind Morata that he ain't in Juventus no more. Zidane could fix Morata for the better but thats all upto morata from here on out.

Jese leaving? That actually seems very likely. he cant develop without game time and he hasnt improved at all. James is a big concern, hopefully we ship him out and soon. but from the looks of things it seems we will wait until the end of EUROs for any real developments. International tournaments always delay transfer plans.

sportsczy wrote:The reason Benzema is preferred is that he allows CR and Bale to be the goalscorers... most every other CF can't even exist in such a setup. That's why Zidane and Madrid hold on to him so tightly.

His lack of durability is an issue however. And i think that Zidane wants to use Morata in a way that allows for Benzema to remain at a top level come April.

And how about the fact that on his day, he is absolutely world class. Look, the fact is, benzema played through injuries that would have put most players in the physio room, but did so anyways. With morata we have someone who provides something a bit different, and will probably rotate so Benz doesn't hurt himself again.

Some posters need to get over themselves benzema is preferred caused he is a WC player, just because most of you don't anything about footy outside of pace and dribbling, we all know why he had so many injuries cause he plays injured, that something a lot of players aren't willing to do as often, shut up and show some respect, he has proven that he can be as clinical as your YouTube favs so again shut up and stick to dribbling=playing great, that the extent of knowledge in this section.

Nothing is more funny than internet experts who are more than willing to destroy a stable championship team because lack of 1v1 dribbling, no wonder flopsco is always motm even though he always gets benched for be useless outside dribbling .

Keep chasing that poor man barca dream.

chad4401 wrote:Some posters need to get over themselves benzema is preferred caused he is a WC player, just because most of you don't anything about footy outside of pace and dribbling, we all know why he had so many injuries cause he plays injured, that something a lot of players aren't willing to do as often, shut up and show some respect, he has proven that he can be as clinical as your YouTube favs so again shut up and stick to dribbling=playing great, that the extent of knowledge in this section.

Nothing is more funny than internet experts who are more than willing to destroy a stable championship team because lack of 1v1 dribbling, no wonder flopsco is always motm even though he always gets benched for be useless outside dribbling .

Keep chasing that poor man barca dream.

He has proven he can be clinical by never scoring 25 goals in La Liga in 8 years?

Suarez in his first full season scored 40.

Forget La Liga, Benzema was irrelevant in cl win. A huge passenger who either played crap or didn't play due to injury. I can't even remember the last time Benzema scored in a cl knock out stage and we reach semi final every year.

What kind of stat is that  Suarez is the #1 scoring target at Barca as both Neymar and Messi realized he is useless otherwise (saw that in the first half of last season).   Benz accepts being the 3rd option and does the job for the team... so the other players don't need to compromise themselves. In fact, Neymar is likely leaving Barca in the next 18 months because he doesn't want to be marginalized.

Benzema has been at Madrid for 7 full season.  He had 9 goals and 4 assists in his first one... in the last 6, he's averaged 25 goals and 13 assists per season.  No major up and downs either as he's scored 20+ in every single season as a 3rd option.  You can't get more consistent than that.

If Benz was primary target and adjusted to role, we wouldnt even be discussing this. Benz is mad consistent when he isnt playing through injury. A proper elite.

Meanwhile i see that loser lewandowski flopping about in the EUROs. To think madrid is even remotely interested in that punk disgusts me. Even morata showed he is better than that scrub.

Boy i opened a can of worms, my bad

I believe there are questions about all three of BBC. Both Benz and Bale have been inconsistent and injured a lot. Ronaldo plays the role of a spoiled kid too much and generally does little in terms of team play.

However I believe that what Zidane is doing, in getting Morata plus the experienced forward Nick has brought up is proper man management of their playing time thru some rotation, some rest and some subs. If he is indeed doing this and it works, we should be able to see the best of BBC when it matters most and probably more important is when they are not available we do have bench players that can step in and do the job.

I actually think this is the plan throughout the entire squad.

Bale was excellent all season but injured alot. That's his only problem. He is not an issue for us

halamadrid2 wrote:Bale was excellent all season but injured alot. That's his only problem. He is not an issue for us

Isn't that an issue? How much he has been injured. And while his performaces were good and for the most part consistent, you can't say that about his first two years. Don't get me wrong, I actually like all of BBC, however they all are overplayed and we need to not only give them sufficient, we need capable replacements when they are not on field, plus it doesn't hurt ant
Ything to have some competition within club. That promotes best in everyone, plus ups the motivation and energy factors.

After chatting with sports, my tune has changed a bit.
Morata DOES provide a legit counter attacking option that benz i dont think can do anymore. Benz is not as fast as he used to be. Morata to his credit while not that fast is fast enough to punish less prepared opponents. But it is all upto Zidane. We play a mix of footy. For morata to be useful, we need to be counter attacking as it is clear with spain he is ill suited for possession where benz would excel at. We'll see.

Im quite optimistic all things considered. Hopefully Zidane utilizes morata correctly to give Benz much needed breaks.

Im more concerned about midfield anyways.

Don't worry, Real Madrid transfer rumors will start raining down the second the euro is over. We'll get a better picture of Z's plans by then.

Turok_TTZ wrote:After chatting with sports, my tune has changed a bit.
Morata DOES provide a legit counter attacking option that benz i dont think can do anymore. Benz is not as fast as he used to be. Morata to his credit while not that fast is fast enough to punish less prepared opponents. But it is all upto Zidane. We play a mix of footy. For morata to be useful, we need to be counter attacking as it is clear with spain he is ill suited for possession where benz would excel at. We'll see.

Im quite optimistic all things considered. Hopefully Zidane utilizes morata correctly to give Benz much needed breaks.

Im more concerned about midfield anyways.

Lol, this coming from the guy who wanted Chicarito or Majoral instead!

futbol_bill wrote:

Turok_TTZ wrote:After chatting with sports, my tune has changed a bit.
Morata DOES provide a legit counter attacking option that benz i dont think can do anymore. Benz is not as fast as he used to be. Morata to his credit while not that fast is fast enough to punish less prepared opponents. But it is all upto Zidane. We play a mix of footy. For morata to be useful, we need to be counter attacking as it is clear with spain he is ill suited for possession where benz would excel at. We'll see.

Im quite optimistic all things considered. Hopefully Zidane utilizes morata correctly to give Benz much needed breaks.

Im more concerned about midfield anyways.

Lol, this coming from the guy who wanted Chicarito or Majoral instead!

Still do but now that Morata is actually here. gotta make do with what we got.

Bring Payet

No it's ok, we have got jese, vasquez, mariano and odegaard

We'll bring Payet when we want to break people's legs.